Rich-Rod Needs to Win at Michigan NOW...
By Scott Burks
This has not been a good summer for college
coaches.
First there was
the Rick Pitino debacle.
Next it was an academic fraud scandal involving current NBA Rookie of the
Year Derrick at Memphis which led to the university to vacate it's Final
Four run in 2007-2008. Now Michigan has a potential problem on its
hand regarding it's football coach Rich Rodriguez.
There is a pending
investigation into abuses of practice times
that makes for an uncertain future for Rodriguez. A
number of current and former players ratted out Rodriguez to officials and
media, saying that the embattled coach practiced the players longer than the
allotted 20 hours per week rule.
First of all, if
his own players are ratting him out that means one thing: they simply do not
like Rodriguez and are looking to submarine his ass. And let's not get
it twisted: EVERYONE is pushing it's players past the allotted 20 hour per
week limit. Can we honestly think Alabama coach Nick Saban is not
working his players past that limit? Do we honestly believe that
Florida coach Urban Meyer is not grinding it and risk not staying a step
ahead of the competition? If folks think otherwise, they simply aren't
paying attention.
There is hope for Rodriguez. He can make
this mess go away by doing one thing: win and win EARLY. Former NFL
coach John Madden famously said that winning is the ultimate deodorant.
That game against Western Michigan to start
the season has turned into a must-win for Rodriguez and potentially one of
the biggest games in the history of Michigan's program. If Rodriguez's
Wolverines stumble against the Broncos, heads are going to roll. On
the other hand, get a win against the Broncos, and Rodriguez will get a
one-week lifeline.
As I said once before, the
reason why certain people do what they do is because they can. If
Rodriguez wins eight games and a bowl game this season, he'll be free to do
whatever the hell he wants.
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